The Palikur population is divided between the two sides of the Brazil/French Guiana boundary. In Brazilian territory, they are located in the extreme north of the State of Amapá, on the periphery of the municipality of Oiapoque, in the region of the Uaçá basin, a tributary of the Oiapoque River. They are the most ancient inhabitants of all the populations that currently live in the region of the lower Oiapoque (Karipuna, Galibi-Kaliña and Galibi-Marworno). The region, according to archaeological data and historical sources, was, until the European invasion, entirely occupied by Arawak-speaking populations. Today, the Palikur are the only remaining representatives of this ancient occupation.

The Palikur villages are distributed along the Urukauá river, tributary of the left bank of the Uaçá River. Descending the Urukauá River from its headwaters until near mid-river, one observes terra firme vegetation, but, from that point on, down to the mouth, the vegetation changes and is characterized by fields that are flooded in the winter or rainy season, and dry in the summer. These fields are crosscut by raised ground, on which the villages are located.

In French Guiana, the Palikur live mainly on the urban periphery of the capitol city, Caienne, and in the city that borders on Brazil, Saint Georges de L’Oyapock, in sectors of the city built by the government to house them. Outside the cities, they live in villages located on the left bank of the lower Oiapoque River.

The lands occupied by the Palikur in Brazil are part of the Uaçá Indigenous Areas I and II (homologated in 1991, decree n º 298 of 10/29/91, DOU 10/30/91, with 470,164 hectares). Contiguous with this area are the Indigenous Areas of Juminã (homologated in 1992, decree s/n º of 05/21/92, DOU 05/22/92, with 41,601 hectares), inhabited by Karipuna and Galibi-Marworno families; and, the area of the Galibi of Oiapoque (homologated in 1982, decree n º 87844, DOU 11/22/82), land of the Galibi-Kaliña. Together, these indigenous areas represent the Indigenous Lands of the Oiapoque.